Evading Obsidian Darkness
by wolfy1.29.13
Summary: Sasuske's never seen the pieces of his brother's cryptic message fit right. He waits for his brother's return to Konoha with someone you'd never expect. The arrogant mask is only to keep people away, to avoid the pain of loss, but one person managed to get through. AU with an actual genius and non-prick Sasuke. T just because. It isn't what you think ;)
1. The Night

Yes just as the summary says I've always thought that though talented Sasuke was never a true genius and he was and always will be a prick. So here's a fic where he for once is not one. Enjoy, Read and Review.

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-The Night-

"N-no…why…NO! NOOOO! STOP IT ONII-SAMA!"

Sasuke Uchiha begs his brother to stop the warped Genjutsu, begs for this all to be a dream. How could his brother have killed them? Everyone, even Okaa-san is gone because of Itachi.

"Listen to me, little brother, I will return to this village one day. When that day comes I wish to see you strong enough to face me. Perhaps if you're strong enough, you will be able to rebuild the Uchiha clan from the ground up…only much better."

Sasuke falls to the ground of the street littered with the bodies of his family. The red glow and single swimming tomes in his eyes fade as he loses consciousness. Before the blackness takes him Sasuke vows to kill his once beloved brother, now the center of hatred in Sasuke's dying heart. Itachi lets the silent tears slide down his face with no small amount of self-loathing and shame. He prays that when he does return his brother will be strong enough to judge him for his grave sins.

Turning to look one last, tear-filled time at his baby brother, Itachi picks up his fallen ninja headband and examines the long scratch in the center that obscures the fire country symbol. He burns it in a fire ball forming from the middle of his open palm, drops the charred metal glob of trash, and flees with his hearts last wish from now on fueling his actions.

When Sasuke next wakes he realizes he's in the hospital, and only for a moment wonders why. Then it all comes back at once: the memory of Itachi looming over their parents' bodies, Itachi admitting to killing the clan's bodies that littered the streets, the terrible visions he made Sasuke see, and….Itachi's final words to him. Sasuke grips the painfully white sheets in balled fistfuls as the memories all erupt his senses and hot tears stream down his face.

"Why Onii-Sama…why-why would you do this to your own family?" He chokes out between his hushed, throaty sobs.

Sasuke curls himself into a ball, hugging his knees to his chest with his face buried in his lap. His sobs turn into raging screams of pain that rip through him and shake him horribly. Nurses and doctors rush into his room and all try to frantically console the grieving boy once they hear his screaming sobs. After they finally calm him down everyone explains the events that transpired while Sasuke was unconscious.

First, all the clan was still being buried in the Uchiha Cemetery and Itachi had escaped without a trace while being branded an S-rank missing-nin. Second, Sasuke was now in the guardianship of Kuzuki, the head family servant and main seneschal to the household needs. Third, Sasuke may continue to live in the Uchiha Compound as it's been gone completely through by ANBU and deemed safe. Fourth, Sasuke could be released from the hospital tomorrow when they had made sure he was okay. Fifth he didn't have to go to school for a week to grieve and recover emotionally. Once they'd finally left him alone Sasuke's blank, broken expression focused on nothing as he thought.

_A-am…am I _really _all alone? I have one living relative who both the village and _I _want dead. I can't stay here, I simply can't. Onii-Sama said he'd be back one day…and that I have to be strong enough to defeat him when he does. If I stay it'll only weigh my new prioritized quest for strength down with the painful memories as a more then constant reminder. But…if I'm to rebuild my clan-no _create from scratch a new and better _Uchiha clan…then shouldn't that be here? _Sasuke's thoughts continue to plague him as the day crawls by.


	2. The Day To Start Anew

A/N: Yay! I LOVE Reviews! :D : D :D on that cheerful note, a special shout out to Animelover4ever1999 for being my very first reviewer. Your love is received and happily rewarded. To Gwenhyfer: This is one of your favorite kinds so I hope you love as well.

Don't get too used to being spoiled but I've got a big break from school coming in JUST a few more days (almost there, I can make it!) so my fanfiction is getting my undivided attention here soon for awhile and this is already what I'd written so far.

I'll see you all at the end of mid-terms with a celebratory chapter (as a pat on the back to myself) ;) wish me luck because mid-terms stupendously suck :p!

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The young Uchiha snaps awake from fitful sleep, remembering the nightmare that was really only a reliving of the still vivid memories from the events of three years ago. Looking around the room he sees the sun only barely rising in the horizon is creating the dim twilight of illumination in his room.

"Damn it! Why do I always relive that Hell this time of year?" Sasuke harshly mumbles under his breath as he rolls out of bed and gets dressed.

He chooses a black t-shirt underneath a black and red flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his pale elbows to match black, roomy, knee-length cargo shorts. He throws on a black leather jacket, zipping it up to his upper abdomen. Sasuke sloppily slips on his shin-high, black leather hiking boots, combs his ebony locks, and washes up before grabbing a quick bite and walking out the door. In only one more year he'll graduate the academy and become an adult in the eyes of the village.

Ever since that day three years ago Sasuke has never stopped questioning or searching. Questioning both his and his brother's resolves and motivation, and searching for answers and a purpose. Even after all these years Sasuke still can't believe his brother would murder the _entire clan_. He also couldn't convince himself Itachi had only spared him because it wasn't worth the effort to kill him. Itachi had emotionally relationship-based issues with their father but everyone else in the entire clan, _especially _him, Itachi undoubtedly would've done anything to protect them.

What also didn't fit was how Itachi said that he wanted to test his strength against Sasuke's. If Sasuke was truly weak enough to be considered not worth the effort of killing, when Itachi even murdered the non-ninja members and babies of the clan, what did he think would happen when he came back for this prophesied confrontation? In hypothetical view surely only a few years, no matter how hard someone trained in those years, couldn't make up for the lack of apparently seen strength in Sasuke. Itachi would be undoubtedly making progress in his strength as well, so there would always be a non-filling gap in their strength, in Itachi's theory anyway.

Putting aside Itachi in this, there was the matter of Sasuke himself. Though he had made the vow to himself to kill his Onii-Sama, Sasuke didn't want to. He didn't want to play into Itachi's hands and fight in the name of vengeance. Because was it truly honorable to those he'd lost to kill the one that did it, one of the last of them, in the same cold blood? Sasuke's dream was always to bring the Uchiha's to glory and greatness since he could remember, but he didn't have the same attitude as those like his father. Sasuke's true, secretly deep wish was to reform the clan starting with his future generation and himself. Since his family's massacre Sasuke has put up the hollow mask of a pompous, spoiled brat with arrogance and complexes of both superiority and inferiority.

It was so that in case Itachi did return, he would have no one close enough to him that Itachi could use to hurt him all over again. He pretended to gain strength for revenge but really he only gained strength for himself and his dream, numbing himself to anyone and anything else in an all consuming resolve to find the answers to these impossible riddles. If everyone he so desperately pushed away would just look into the rare chinks of his solitary armor, they'd see a vulnerable young boy desperately trying to stop from drowning in the hereditary obsidian darkness of his own soul.

Sasuke contemplates all this for the possibly billionth time the umpteenth day of everyday since he woke up in that hospital three years ago. Inwardly sighing and saying that there was no use in more pointless dawdling, Sasuke gets to work in his daily weekend training. Thanks to the Uchiha vast library and training ground, Sasuke was able to mercilessly throw himself deep into his studies. He activated the Sharingan only a week after Itachi was branded a missing-nin in his mourning period. Studying the mechanics of the ninja arts since a he was six and the advanced chakra control techniques from the library, Sasuke was really ready to be a Genin a fully year before he enrolled at the academy. Though he wanted all the extra time he could get to train and doing missions would take away from that.

Sasuke is a fourth level master at chakra control and has a fully matured, three tome Sharingan. Sasuke has brutally thrown himself into the memories of the massacre over and over again and trained as hard as he could in order to advance his Sharingan. Getting to work, Sasuke activates his Sharingan and focuses chakra all throughout his body, upping the gravity level of his pressure seals to sixty out of one-hundred. As the seals appear on his arms, chest, and legs only a part of the seal is visible on his on his lower-knee/upper shin as it's being obscured around the edges by his shorts and boots.

With the gravity activated Sasuke begins his daily physical regime of running along the trees for a collective multiple-circuit of fifty miles (he long ago mastered tree walking/ hopping and just combined the two, literally running along the trunks of the trees to the next like he's jogging on solid ground.) Meanwhile, scattering ten kage bushin around the forest to ambush/spar with him with weapons he's hid all around the training ground.

Mostly he has them attack each other with varying Jutsus to practice the recognizing of different chakra and the Jutsu types the Sharingan can differentiate. Three however ambush him with Shuriken and Kunai then proceed to jump him as he lands to safety higher up in the tree he's on from jumping out of the way. As the three kage bushin appear in front of him Sasuke jumps from his crouched position on the branch and pulls off a more slender but long branch as he goes. Pouring chakra into it to make it reinforced steel in the split second of his jump and raising the weapon above his head, Sasuke brings the makeshift sword down to brandish the shoulder of the clone in front of him. At the same time Sasuke brings his knee to his chest up to catch the foot of the clone intending to kick him in the deliberately left opening. He pivots with his caught clone to the left right as he exposes his lower back to the third clones kick on purpose.

This sends both Sasuke and the clone out of the way of the other two as they land shakily on Sasuke's previous post. Sasuke releases the clone from his knee as they quickly approach the ground. The clone tumbles and vanishes without the puff of smoke or popping sound. Sasuke just barely has time to pivot and skid to a stop on his feet with his back to the two clones on the higher ground. In the split second between when his back is turned and as he turns around, Sasuke takes a deep breath and cups his right hand to the side of his mouth to unleash a solid shield of fire from the clones' own two. In the time lapse between all three's fire Sasuke jumps back and turns his metal branch into an actual sword using an object transformation Jutsu.

As the two clones come closer to him Sasuke blocks one's extended kick with his sword and rolls into a break dance spin-kick to boost the other into midair above him. Before either of them lands on the ground, Sasuke lays his left palm flat and in the blink of an eye, uses a Jutsu to immerse himself in the earth's protection. Approximately two seconds after both clones simultaneously land Sasuke explodes from the ground a foot behind one of them with a flaming boulder half the size of his head in hand. Sasuke hurls it at the clone he's behind before either of them can react. At the same time one eye locks onto the other clones baffled gaze and paralyzes him. When Sasuke lands he propels forward with a chakra burst to his feet and gouges the clones neck with his sword.

The second both enemies are vanquished Sasuke stands upright from his striking position, then dispels all chakra expending activities except the Sharingan and the now decreased gravity seal to a comfortable forty out of one hundred that had slowly decreased since activation. This was to prevent both chakra exhaustion and undue physical wear on his body. Sasuke walks over to the now charred area and flaming rubble pile, putting it out with a wave of his hand over the fire and clenching it into a fist. Sasuke looks around absent-mindedly with his hands on his hips and nodding in satisfaction. Wishing his mother could see him now.

He missed only that one person the most out of all his loss, he and his mother had been almost as close as he and Itachi were because they all three were foreign to the arbitrary Uchiha attitude. Sasuke knew though that without as great a loss as that suffered, he would be nowhere near as strong as he was now. Chuckling softly at his ironic hold of the situation, Sasuke deactivates the Sharingan and takes up once more his self-loathed mask of arrogance. Walking out of the Uchiha Compound, Sasuke decides to take the short cut of roof-jumping to the gates of Konoha. The guards on duty gladly let him through and he merely replies with a noncommittal "Hn".

If he wears himself out during training or just needs a breath of fresh air, the forest is a great place to unwind for Sasuke. Today was such an occasion. Taking to the trees Sasuke jumps over to his favorite spot in the forest, a tall and grassy meadow with a gently cascading breeze that sits only a mile or two deep into the forest and a beautifully serene place. Sasuke lies peacefully among the many wildflowers and watches the swallows high in the clear sky above. Drifting to sleep in the warm, early-afternoon sun, Sasuke's face takes a rare expression akin to peace that's never seen by anyone.

_Sasuke was awoken by one of the artisan clan member's babies crying…wait, what?_

The young Uchiha awakens from his rather pleasant nap to the sound of a baby's cries. He sits up and looks confusedly around, trying to hear where the sound is coming from or to see if he just isn't alone. When he neither finds nor senses a person or thing other then the docile wildlife, he arches a bewildered eyebrow.

_Where is it coming from then? If I just ignore it will it stop? _After a good three minutes Sasuke realizes the crying isn't in his head and it won't go away. _It doesn't seem like it's too far off so maybe I should at least go look. _

Sasuke gets up and brushes himself off, then begins walking around and trying to track the sound. About ten yards away the crying sounds close so Sasuke takes a more careful vigilance. When he comes to the familiar stream running through the meadow, the sound is like the baby's next to him but he decides to stop for quick drink upon realizing he's parched. When he goes to stand up after drinking three or four gulps with his hands, something just out of the corner of his eye catches his attention. Looking over, Sasuke sees a wicker basket near the bank of the stream. Something in it, winking in the sunlight is what caught the boy's attention.

Sasuke closes the distance in three strides and peers in the basket, seeing not quite what he expected. There is a baby, a newborn baby girl still purple from being covered in birth residue and a long strip-the entire-of the umbilical cord hanging from her navel. She's tiny and screaming her lungs out. The thing winking in the sunlight was a bloodied kunai, probably used to sever the umbilical from the placenta. Sasuke instinctively removes his jacket and lays it spread out on the ground. Placing one hand under the baby's head and butt, Sasuke gingerly lays her on the jacket and snuggly wraps it around her tiny form.

He picks up the still screaming bundle and cradles the girl close to his chest. Upon the warmth and sudden contact the baby's cries quiet to scared whimpers; the baby's been abandoned and she's afraid. Sasuke's face considerably softens in pity for the poor girl as he remembers Itachi and how he left him alone and brokenly angry in the streets among the dead of his clan.

"Hey there sweetheart shhh, shhh, awe don't cry. It's okay you don't have to be afraid, I've got you." The soft coos of the Uchiha prompt the baby to fall completely silent. "There, that's better. Now the million dollar question is what to do with you."

Putting his index and middle fingers of his free arm on the girl's forehead, Sasuke does a thorough diagnostic Jutsu. _Breathing: normal, blood pressure; normal at 122/65, oxygen levels at 100%. No signs of abnormality or disease. All level counts are normal. Her internal body temperature is at 98.2 degrees and stable, and the gestation age diagnosis; full-term…huh? This kid's got chakra coils, and judging by their slightly larger then average size, I'd say she possess a kekei genkai or at the very least belongs to a young ninja clan...But then, why could I not sense her?_

Sasuke removes his fingers and shrugs it off, deciding he has to get her at least the bare necessities of medical treatment. Though deciding against just waltzing into a hospital where he'll be bombarded with questions, Sasuke decides to take her to the more then equipped Uchiha compound. Many Uchiha clan members were delivered by a planned home birth so all the supplies should be there. Quickly Sasuke grabs the basket, takes off towards, and sneaks into the village. He's careful to mask his presence and slink in the shadows to avoid attracting attention, hurrying en route to the compound. Once safely in his home Sasuke yells for his family's long-lived servant and his technical guardian.

"Kuzuki, I need your assistance!" The Uchiha shouts.

"Hai, Uchiha-" the middle-aged butler stops dead in his tracks when he sees the baby in Sasuke's arms. "U-Uchiha-Sama, um, who-who is your rather _young _guest if I may inquire?"

"She's a newborn baby I found in the forest outside of Konoha. I need your help in cleaning her up and administering the necessary medical treatments. I know many Uchiha children were born by a home birth so all the supplies should be here, right?"

"Yes that is correct…Sir, if I might ask, just what is your plan for the girl?"

"First we get her cleaned up and comfortable in the compound nursery, and then you show me how to take care of her as she'll likely be staying here for a few days. I'm going to take her to the Hokage and see if we can't find out what clan she belongs to, or at least her nationality."

"Hai Uchiha-Sama, follow me to the bathroom please and I shall fetch the supplies needed to carry out your request."

Sasuke wordlessly goes to the indicated bathroom and follows Kuzuki's instructions. Plugging the sink, he fills it with three inches of warm water, and gets a clean washcloth and towel. When Kuzuki returns he holds a small black carry-on and a plastic bag of things. Sasuke makes room for the man as he lays out the contents of the bag on the counter and opens the small carry-on. Taking out a pair of gleaming silver scissors, Kuzuki instructs the boy where to cut the umbilical cord. Warily, Sasuke completes the task and marvels at how the baby didn't cry out in pain.

"Okay Uchiha-Sama, place the baby in the water but keep your hand under her head and hold it up."

Sasuke follows but panics when the baby starts wailing upon contact with the water. Kuzuki assuages his fears of doing something wrong, takes the washcloth, and lathers it with the bar of soap from the bag. Handing it back to the Uchiha, he carefully instructs the boy how to wash her small body. Sasuke gently and thoroughly cleans her face, neck, arms, legs, and torso. With no small amount of discomfort he also cleans what is necessary.-much to Kuzuki's amusement-Taking the small bottle of baby-safe shampoo, Sasuke gently washes the short white hair blanketing the baby's head.

He then carefully and slowly rinses her off for fear of drowning her. Once the girl's clean, Sasuke wraps her in the towel while Kuzuki drains the sink. Spreading the towel underneath her, Sasuke lays the girl on the swiftly cleaned off counter and watches as Kuzuki writes down all the gathered information of his repeated medical Jutsu on her, to make sure nothing's changed. He says they can save the things only a blood test can determine for when he takes her to the Hokage later today. Kuzuki then spreads Vaseline over the baby's eyelids and explains that it's so her eyes don't dehydrate since babies can't regulate things like that. After taking her measurements and weight, Kuzuki gives the girl her mandatory vaccinations with syringes, needles, and liquid medications produced from the kit. He then cleans off the umbilical cord stump that he explains will scar into a belly button after a day or two.

With the medical evaluations first part done, Kuzuki shows Sasuke how to diaper, dress, and swaddle the baby as he dresses her in a pale-pink onesie with matching socks and wrap her in a fluffy pink blanket that slightly reminds Sasuke of the fur outlining the top of Kiba Inuzuka's jacket. Handing the now red newborn to her self-proclaimed caretaker, Kuzuki leads the way to the compound nursery…or what Sasuke thought was the compound nursery.

"Kuzuki, I thought I was the last baby born into the clan." Sasuke says.

"Well you were Sir, in the main branch of the clan anyway."

"But…then shouldn't this room be…decorated for a boy?" Sasuke looks again at the surprisingly pink but very nice room.

"There are two compound nurseries Uchiha-Sama; one for each of the possible sexes."

"Well I see how that's reasonable, based on the fact that these _are _the _clan _nurseries."

Sasuke walks over to the oak rocking chair by the only window in the room, and near the crib directly in the center of the room. Sitting down he gently begins to rock in the chair with the girl sleeping like a rock in his arms. For the first time Sasuke truly studies the baby, taking notice of the details of her face. The shape of her face has a delicate oval softness. The blinding whiteness of the babe's hair is matched by the petite eyebrows and long, delicate eyelashes. The eyelashes act as delicate frays to the curtain, hiding the palest-shade of blue pools that sleepily greet his obsidian orbs in her wakefulness. The girl's impossibly pale-pink lips are full and pouty as her small fist move uncoordinatedly by her face in squirming.

"Hi princess, you sure don't sleep long do you?" Sasuke's light-hearted grin spreads just a little wider as his charge yawns loudly yet somehow softly at the same instance. Her mouth widens into a cute "o" to reveal a wide expanse of gum, with a content sigh escaping at the end. Sasuke's heart melts along with his face at such adorableness.

"Uchiha-Sama, how do you intend to handle school, your training and this girl? Even if it is only for a few days, I just don't see how."

"Kuzuki, that's my concern to worry of and I will take care of it." Sasuke says in an annoyed tone, the moment ruined.

"Hai Uchiha-Sama, I apologize as I meant to take no offense to you, Sir." The man quickly sweeps a deep bow with his hand over his heart. Sasuke mutters 'idiot' under his breath at how loyal and yet clumsy the man is when dealing with his 'Young Master'.

"There is none taken." He tersely informs. "Bring me a ready-made bottle to feed this little one. She must need nourishment with being born only so recently." A while later, the girl is fed and nuzzled into Sasuke's neck as he gently and rhythmically rubs her back.

_So the million dollar question is what to do with you._

Sasuke frowns slightly as his own words repeat in his head. _What _do _I do with you, little one? _

_Uchiha-Sama, how do you intend to handle school, your training and this girl? _Kuzuki's words are repeated back in his inner voice's mocking tone.

…_Even if it is only for a few days…Do I want it to be? _He stops as this question crosses his mind, and considers the steadily growing attachment he's felt for her since first sight. How his instincts took over, his fear for harming her, everything falls into place as Sasuke realizes that he's slowly starting to fall in love with the babe he holds.

_I need at least a few days to sort everything out, two at the least. What do I do once I get the answers from the Hokage, just give her up? Where will the Hokage send her?_ His mind flashes to the Konoha Orphanage and the few times he saw it when he went with Itachi in secret on his daily watch over the place. _The kids there are happy, but it was crowded with barely enough to go around. This girl, even as a baby, wouldn't do well in a place like that. _

Sasuke's mind takes him back to the medical check-up. _She has slightly larger then average chakra coils and so she at least belongs to a clan…but if she was left in the forest like that they obviously had no intention to take care of her. She could be a valuable asset to my rebuilding the Uchiha clan…But…How _would _I balance her, school and training? I guess I could have a clone watch her while at school. That way it'll be like I'm not even gone; I'll get all the memories of my clone when they dispel. _

_ I'll graduate the academy in a year so she won't even know the difference between a clone and her da- _Sasuke's mind locks once again; tripping over the foreign word and actual meaning of it. _Daddy…I'll-I'll be…I'll be a father. Hold on! Think about the rational side of this for God's sake man! _

He shakes himself from this particular string of thought for a moment. It's in this moment that Sasuke realizes just how hard these three years have been on his emotional state. Realizing just how bad he developed a craving for connection to another, how much _more_ he hated his indifferent, hollow mask then he'd originally thought (speaking volumes on that note.) Astounded by the plain, simple fact that-

_I don't care…I flat-out don't give a damn about all the trouble it'd give me. I _want _her-no _**need **_her. If my dreams for the future of this clan start they start here, with her._

"WHAT?!" Sasuke fights the urge to sigh in absolute relief he'd had the common sense enough to put his new daughter under a deep sleeping Jutsu.

"I plan to adopt her into this clan…as my daughter." Sasuke says, just as unnervingly calm as the first time.

"Uchiha-Sama!" His face is positively aghast with exasperation. "You CANNOT be serious! You are but a mere boy still Young Master, HOW could you POSSIBLY expect to RAISE A CHILD?! Not to mention the fact you still have the matter of how to approach the Hokage with this LUDICROUS idea!"

"I intend to have it taken care of, Kuzuki. You need not fret over anything other then attending to your new mistress." The sweetened smile never leaves his face as he gazes at his daughter-asleep in her crib-throughout the entire conversation since his proclamation. Yes, it had been decided the millisecond he first awoke to her cries in the forest's meadow; she was entirely his and his alone. Nozomi Uchiha…the perfect and (more then to the extreme of) well thought out name to grace her.

The rarest of beauties expressed vibrantly and quietly at once, and increasing as time went by. Yet, she would be doing so without putting forth any effort and doing so in a way of humility or modesty, as she naturally did even now. She would also represent his deepest wish and the start of a new beginning; a happy and humble yet stronger then ever Uchiha clan. It was because of this descriptive outlook of his girl that Sasuke considered a great many a name. Although, none sounded quite as good, and at the same time fitting the description, then the name Nozomi with Uchiha.

It should go without saying, but Sasuke knew he couldn't approach the Hokage with this. He also didn't necessarily have to either; the compound had more then enough medical supplies and a built in infirmary wing, even, so medical issues were taken care of. He had shadow clones and a reluctant but not disobedient servant to watch her all day everyday. He could keep this under wraps for a year with ease, no problem. Whatever things they'd learn from a blood test besides allergies wasn't important and their was probably a Jutsu for that sort of thing somewhere anyhow.

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I tried to be as vivid and descriptive as I could in the fight scene.

Something else that always bugged me in Naruto was that despite having the vast Uchiha Compound's resources, having FOUR YEARS to train with really a minor interference of school time, and being hailed as a genius Sasuke was really only above average when he graduates the academy. Plus, even if he doesn't remember activating his Sharingan remembering the massacre alone should have been enough for him to reactivate it, right?

Just in case you're all curious here's Sasuke's stat sheet:

**Chakra Control: **Rank B

**Genjutsu: **Rank C+ or high Chunin level to borderline beginning Jonin

**Ninjutsu: **Rank B

**Taijutsu: **Rank B ( Sasuke can hold his own against Rock Lee with maybe a one tome Sharingan. Only because Lee moves faster then a darn bullet train to be seen by the human eye would he lose without it.)

**Fuinjutsu: **Rank B

**Senjutsu: **Rank C

He is, for all intense purposes, a Jonin. Honestly, I think if Fugaku would have not already been so obsessed with Itachi Sasuke could be visibley seen to have had AT LEAST half of Itachi's potential and Itachi was an ANBU at 10 with a fully mastered Sharingan for God's sake! Plus Itachi did start teach him for a couple years before the Academy.

By the way, yes Rienforcement and Object Transformation Jutsu are Shirou's abilities from Fate Stay Night brought into the Naruto World. Later I'm thinking Sasuke could Trace using his Sharingan. C'mon, they can use chakra to reinforce their bodies and summon things from what are essentially other dimensions, why would those abilities be a stretch? And Sasuke can already copy jutsus so why not weapons?

I gave Sasuke Kage Bushins because, let's face it even Kakashi can make like twenty when he was injured on the bridge after fighting Zabusa and he's got nowhere near Naruto's level of chakra reserves and the Uchiha's were a really important clan so they'd have a forbidden Jutsu or two in their library if not just from copying it. For now he only uses like ten to fifteen though.

I hope I made it realistic enough and if not for those that hate :p I will take constructive criticisms if it REALLY bothers you because this is for as much your enjoyment as mine and I try to stay out of beyond possible by the laws of possibility type things. (let's face it; there have to be limits, even for comedic purposes it can get ridiculous beyond enjoyability.)

Okay I'm done blathering. As always; Enjoy, Read, and Review.


	3. Graduation & The Truth Revealed

A/N: Hi! Sorry it's been so long! I meant to update this sooner I've just been so busy with my other stories and I can't promise anything but I'm aiming for the next one by like two weeks.

Enjoy! Read and Review!

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Sasuke rolls out of bed, bright and early at five am. Walking into Nosy's room, he sees his little girl standing in her crib and bouncing happily. Her hair has grown out to a full and thick head of blindingly white locks that go to her ears and the back of her neck. She's grown as well and is a bright and happy baby; already walking and sporting four front teeth.

"Papa 'ood, 'ood! Omi 'nt 'ood!" She giggles as Sasuke swings her high above his head.

"I know you're hungry, but we gotta get ready Nozomi. You know what today is right?" When she just continues giggling, Sasuke brings her face a few inches from his to get her attention.

"Papa!" Sasuke smiles as both her hands touch his face.

"Nosy, what is today? Is it a happy day?"

"Ya!" She gives a round nod, evoking laughter from her father.

"Is today your birthday, hmm?" When she shrugs her shoulders and smiles, Sasuke sighs. "Yes it is Nozomi, and we're going to go out and do something special. Doesn't that sound fun?"

"Ya!" She giggles as her daddy kisses her mouth and flies her above his head.

Sasuke dresses Nozomi in a dark-blue overall dress, with the Uchiha clan symbol on the front pocket. This is over a white, long-sleeved shirt. Sasuke puts white, slip-on tennis shoes over clean and white socks. Putting her now tamed locks in a small ponytail high up on the back of her head, Sasuke sets her down in the play area and goes to get himself ready.

Instead of going for what he's always worn at the academy, Sasuke goes for something a bit more casual. Over a long-sleeved, black shirt with the Uchiha fan on the left shoulder and black jeans, Sasuke throws on a special, hooded and long, leather jacket. The jacket was not only a specially made gift from Kuzuki, but it contained several concealed pockets that are big enough so he can hide numerous weapons and two scrolls in a single pocket. The hood also helps him conceal his prized twin katanas, sitting on his back in an 'x'.

Sasuke is a fourth level blade master in the dancing sword style and proficient in two sword style along with the basic form of swordsmanship. His Kenjutsu is at Jonin levels based on Kuzuki's observations but Sasuke isn't the type to let praise go to his head. As far as he's concerned, he is someone merely learning faster then others and working harder then others to get where he is. After combing his hair, that he let grow out to little longer then shoulder length, he puts on his fingerless, leather gloves and scoops up his little girl.

"Alright Nozomi, are you ready for breakfast?"

"'Ood!"

After feeding her some dry cereal and apple juice he switches out for his clone. Sneaking out of the compound and off to the Academy via roof-jumping, Sasuke's glad he won't have to use clones with Nozomi on a regular basis after today. He's the first to arrive in class and, as usual, he tunes out everything around him until the Graduation Test starts with the written exam. He finishes the fifty-six questions in ten minutes and takes out the most recent Jutsu scroll he's been studying **Fire Rasengan**. According to the notes in the library, Minato was a very close friend of his father and shared in the Technique but it's modified by using fire instead of wind chakra. Sasuke is one of the last people called up for the second part of the exam, Ninjutsu demonstrations.

Sasuke gives a dismissive snort at Iruka. "I wish they'd make this more challenging."

He does a replacement Jutsu with the log by the door, makes three bushin, and does a beginner level henge of Iruka in five minutes. All with the cheesy puff of smokes and popping sounds and using the bare minimum of chakra for the exercises. Outside for the third part of the test, Sasuke throws all the shuriken and kunai in the set of ten at the three vital points of all the dummies in ten seconds and earns a perfect score with every single one a bulls-eye. Back in the classroom, Sasuke takes two headbands after asking if he can get the plates sewn into his gloves.

Sasuke sneaks back into the compound with the metal plates sewn into the middle of the backs on his leather gloves. He meets the clone just beyond the front door and takes the decoratively pink wrapped box-with air-holes poked in the bottom-behind his back before dispelling the clone.

"Nozomi, Daddy's got a surprise~" Sasuke sing-songs with a big grin as he walks through the door.

The next two hours are spent in chaotic bliss as the two men are slaves to the energetic girl's whims. Many fond memories are made that day. Including when Nozomi opened her daddy's present to find a brand-new puppy. Sasuke had already set everything up in advance to house the furry edition and he thought Nozomi would like a playmate.

The puppy is a pure-breed beagle. With his back, head, ears, and the entire face except his snout and a small line in-between both eyes colored a soft brown. The rest of him is a white matching Nozomi's hair. Nozomi affectionately names him Gaki. While Sasuke leaves Kuzuki to clean up the mess, he takes Nozomi and an already made diaper bag out for a special trip.

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To say the sight Hiruzen Sarutobi was greeted with was the last thing he thought he'd see when the young Uchiha stepped into his office…through the window too…was an understatement.

"Hello Hokage-Sama, I suppose your curious and, well, shocked?" A genuine smile on the boy's face is the equivalent of Jariya to stop peeping in bathhouses and writing Icha Icha Paradise.

'Yes, very much so Sasuke. Would you care to explain?"

"I'd be delighted, but first could you send in someone for me?"

"Let me get him," Hiruzen gives a knowing smirk to the young Uchiha. "Inu." With that one word a certain ANBU with a dog mask and silver, gravity-defying hair appears in a swirl of wind and leaves.

"Hai, Hokage-Sama?" Kakashi appears with his back to the young Uchiha.

"Oi, Kashi-nii, don't I get a 'yo' at least?" Sasuke smirks as he sees Kakashi turn around.

"Of-" the smile in mid-form under Kakashi's mask falters as his one visible eye, hidden by the dog mask, widens.

"Hn. I suppose I should do this next." Sasuke forms a single ram hand sign and automatically the two-kage level ninja feel the chakra shift.

"Oh? I didn't realize you knew anything about seals Sasu-chan?" Sasuke smiles in an annoyed manner at the nickname.

"They're just some privacy seals, Kashi no Ecchi; you two are the only ones I trust with my secrets for now." At the title, Kakashi goes to give Sasuke a noogie but thinks better of it as the little girl in said boy's arms starts laughing.

"Now about her…Kashi-nii, I'd like you to meet your niece, Nozomi Uchiha. Today is her first birthday so be nice."

"Well hi there, sweetheart." As Kakashi goes to scoop her into his arms from Sasuke's hold, Sasuke takes a step back out of his reach.

"Let's get one thing straight Nii-san." Sasuke intones, holding a finger up to emphasize his point. "Under no circumstances, now or ever, are you to share a certain orange book with her, or have it anywhere near her. By anywhere near, I mean in her presence, it stays. Out. Of. Sight. Or so help me Kami, I will shove every single page of that book up a place where the sun doesn't shine and then make you eat the covers." To back this up, he released his killing intent into a glare that can only come with being a parent.

"R-right…" Hiruzen gives a sweat-drop at Sasuke's vivid imagery.

With a nod of satisfaction, Sasuke hands Nozomi to Kakashi. The girl looks curiously at the dog-masked Jonin and Kakashi eye smiles at her as he removes his ANBU mask. Sasuke tries to suppress a snicker as Nozomi attempts pulling down the concealing black face-mask practically nobody has ever seen Kakashi without. While Kakashi stirs, he doesn't try overly hard to stay out of the girl's reach.

"So Sasuke, do you care to tell us, what brings you and young Nozomi here? Might I inquire of your new attire as well?"

"Yes, Hokage-Sama, well as I am now an adult in the eyes of the village I would request formally registering Nozomi as a member of the Uchiha clan with me as her father. As for my change in clothes; I'm dropping the act, or at least part of it. I…well I guess you could say I'm showing my abilities without giving anything away at the moment."

"So the broodiness part is going to stay?" A tic mark appears on Sasuke's head appears.

"Unfortunately, it has to. Believe me Nii-san, I hate it more then you could ever know."

Kakashi sighs. "Yes I know Sasuke. I still say you didn't have to push everyone away."

"I didn't push everyone away; not you and not her." Sasuke says as he inclines his head to his daughter. "That in and of itself is a risk." He says flatly.

"The only reason you never shut me out into the brood-fest was because I've been around you just as long as Itachi and I know you too well."

"I know this, _Nii-san_. Ever since I was a toddler sneaking off as a stowaway on Itachi's patrols you'd never tell on me. If I was caught, you'd actually encourage Itachi to let me stay. Hell, you were the one that showed Itachi I have a lightning affinity."

"That's right, and it's because I know this that I know you don't really want to isolate yourself like you do."

Sasuke whirls around, readily losing his patience. "And what would you have me do?! Would you have wanted Itachi to gather everyone I would have held close and repeat the damnable tragedy of my family being slaughtered like swine?! If it was per your suggestion that I stop this, that's what would happen! He killed babies, our parents, everyone! Everyone, that is, except me."

"Sasuke listen to me; you might think Itachi is coming back to face you, you may think he had a reason for keeping you alive, but it was just on his demented whims that you are still here. He toyed with your mind, tried to get you to follow him into the darkness of madness."

"And you think I'm just going to roll over and play to his games?!"

"No but-"

"I know that bull he fed me is just that; nothing. There has to be another reason, Kashi-nii. Even _if_ he isn't intentionally coming back for me, he'll still come back and I intend to be here when he does."

"Sasuke do you think-?"

"Look at the logic behind it Nii-san; Itachi says I'm not worth the effort of killing, that I'm too weak, and yet he killed even the non-ninja's and infants! Yet he says he wants to one day test his strength against someone he apparently can't waste the effortless effort to kill? How in the Hell does that make sense?! If I was really as weak as he says he thought me to be, to not even find the time he-then why would he want to test himself?

No matter how hard I train, by his logic, a few short years isn't enough to be making the weak me look strong to him. Let alone closing the gap between the two of us and on top of Itachi training just as hard and growing even stronger in that same time!"

"Sasuke, I will agree that Itachi's logic doesn't make sense. But he was just saying it to frighten you and get you to fall into his trap. Do you really want to kill your older brother?"

"You know me better then that Kashi Onii-san; of course I don't, but that doesn't mean I'm not still going to fight. I'll fight, but not for the reason he thinks I'm going to fight."

"He thinks you'll be fighting for revenge? To honor the clan he destroyed?" Sasuke nods to his Hokage's question.

"I'm not; I'm already honoring my clan." Sasuke points to Nozomi, "I'm honoring their memory by starting the Uchiha clan anew, starting with Nozomi. They will be stronger but humbler, and not power hungry. They will be diverse and most of all, happy."

"So then what is your reason to fight Itachi? You see through his ruse and are not prideful on your own strength, you don't seek revenge, and so there is no reason." Hiruzen frowns deeply, showing his old age.

"No, there is a reason Hokage-Sama. I will fight my brother to put him to rest; so that he may find peace from whatever plagued his soul in life. I also fight in the name of being a Shinobi of Konoha, and thus, embodying the Will of Fire to protect my village from an S Rank, nuke missing-nin."

"Sasuke-kun, please-" But whatever Kakashi has to say is silenced by a raise of Hiruzen's hand.

"We will discuss this another time. For now let's get the adoption papers squared away. Congratulations Sasuke-san, although I really need to ask this; where did you find her? It's so I may file the report."

"One year ago today, I found her two miles outside of the village, in the forest. She was in a basket that was near the bank of a river running through the meadow clearing there. The basket contained nothing but her as a filthy newborn with the umbilical cord still intact and a bloodied kunai. I preformed a medical Jutsu and found that she holds either ninja clan blood or a kekei genkai for she had slightly larger then average ninja chakra reserves for a newborn infant."

"I will have the hospital run some blood tests." Hiruzen says, scribbling notes down. "In the meantime the two of you may leave."

Sasuke takes Nozomi from his Nii-san before bidding the two goodbye and sushins away. Kakashi follows suit and Hiruzen is left alone to do the paperwork.

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"Well Nosy-chan, I'd say the taking a walk idea was a good one." Sasuke coos to the baby in her bright yellow stroller as they walk down the street on a walk that afternoon.

It's been a day since graduation and Sasuke thought a walk would do both of them good. People's reactions have varied and averaged all day; All of the small children have wanted to touch and play with her, the elderly are happy the clan is not a sole member any longer, and men and women have doted her adorableness and congratulated him. He's yet to run into any academy students or peers, but he's waiting to savor their sure-to-be-priceless reactions. The one thing everyone has had in common with the general reaction to her; they say, "Aren't you too young to be a father?"

It hurts Sasuke to have to coldly blow them off. His heart dies with every arrogant sneer or haughty remark of "Of course she's adorable, she _is _my daughter." He of course only says this when he's sure she's asleep and can't absorb the arrogance. The rest of the time they get a monosyllabic "Hn."

_ I swear to Kami; as soon as Itachi is dead I'm clearing up the misunderstanding of my attitude to these people. Of course Nozomi will be as sweet, but people will probably be wondering why when _I'm _her father. _Sasuke vows this while watching his daughter laugh and reach up to the air in a nonsensical way.

After a fun-filled afternoon walking around and seeing all the people, Sasuke takes her out to the place where it all began; the meadow. He spreads out a big picnic blanket and sprays her with bug spray and a new coat of spray-on sunscreen before setting her down to explore. The time flies as they go around the clearing and to the river, Sasuke pointing out things and letting her play in the calm current while holding her tight. Before he realizes it, dusk is all ready setting in and he goes back with a tuckered out toddler on his shoulder to go pack up for home.

As he's folding up the picnic blanket with Nozomi in a sling across his chest, Sasuke catches sound and sense of a familiar presence nearing them and another one that's just appeared though faint.

"Naruto and Mizuki? Why are they here?" Sasuke mutters just as the blonde passes him in the trees, carrying a large scroll on his back. "I'd better follow him if he's got the sealed Jutsu scroll from the Hokage's office."

With, that Sasuke masks his chakra and closely tails the blonde clown to a secluded hut in a seemingly abandoned clearing. Sasuke can sense Mizuki hiding in the trees and watching, but he doesn't come out from his own hiding place either. Opting to put Nozomi in a sleeping Jutsu Sasuke takes watching his classmate's antics for a little while. An hour passes as Sasuke watches Naruto practice a Jutsu he knows from the scroll; the Kage Bushin Jutsu. Finally Sasuke faintly senses Iruka entering the forest, but this is a hard place to find unless you know the forest so he'll be a little while.

_Looks like the fun's over, hmm? Still after only an hour Naruto's just about mastered the Jutsu. I know he's got ridiculous chakra reserves but come on! He's making like thirty clones like it's nothing!_ With this thought in mind, Sasuke casually emerges from the shadows.

"Hey dobe, what are you up to now?" Sasuke calls out with arrogance dripping in his tone. Naruto jumps and whirls around, his clothes disheveled and dirty from his hard practice and the scroll in both his hands.

"What are you doing here Teme? Mizuki-sensei said this place is like impossible to find!" Naruto half complains/whines.

Sasuke only gives a dismissive snort. "Wasn't that hard. So, mind explaining just why you have the sealed Jutsu scroll and are learning from it?"

"It isn't any of your business, but if you really wanna know," Naruto grumbles, "Mizuki-sensei said that if I learn a Jutsu from this scroll Iruka-sensei will let me graduate, Teme."

Sasuke raises an eyebrow. _Looks like Mizuki's a traitor, best take care of this. _

"Huh? Hey Teme, wha'da you have there?" Naruto is looking at the sling across his rival's chest.

Sasuke sighs. "Hey Naruto, I'm going to be honest with you alright. Mizuki-sensei is lying to you. He's a traitor to the village and probably not working alone if he wants that scroll. He used you because he knew you had a motive; wanting to graduate. He used that to bait you to do the dirty work, so he could get the scroll."

"And why should I believe you Teme? You always make me wanna look bad! But I'll show you, I'm goanna be Hokage and then everybody will respect me and look up to me, dattebayo!"

At this, Sasuke can't help but look sadly at his self-proclaimed rival-thought friend. He'd known since the first day of the academy that Naruto was the permanent outcast in the village. He also knew the boy pulled elaborate pranks just for the attention. If he applied himself to his studies like he did pranks, Naruto would probably be in the top five of the Academy instead of dead last.

"Naruto, I do respect you. I never want to make you look bad." Sasuke, without a second thought and even knowing of Mizuki's presence, throws away the arrogant mask to try and level with the idiot.

"Wha-huh?! You aren't the Teme! What the Hell did you do with Sasuke?!" Naruto panics and immediately goes on the defensive.

"Naruto I am Sasuke. I promise I'll explain later, but right now we have to take care of Mizuki and clear up this mess."

"Take care of me? What are you talking about Sasuke-kun? _I _see Naruto's potential unlike Iruka and the rest of this village." Kuzuki appears in a branch on the tree in front of the boys. He turns to Naruto "Let me help you Naruto, Don't listen to this boy. They all hate you and want you to fail. Iruka and the rest don't understand you or your potential, give me the scroll-"

Mizuki's goading is interrupted by three kunai flying in his direction. He easily jumps away from them and glares at the offending Uchiha. He gasps when he sees his red eyes, eyes with three tome swirling in pools red as blood.

"That was a mere warning Mizuki, leave the village in peace." Sasuke growls. He turns to Naruto. "I trust you to do the right thing Naruto. I'm sorry I would have liked to have been there for you more. I know the pain of being alone, alone like you. I know why you act the way you do is because everybody ignores you and you feel invisible. Naruto, don't let the way they treat you cloud your judgment and do the right thing." Sasuke gives the absolutely stunned boy a warm smile filled with hope.

"S-S…Sasuke…" The wide-eyed blonde's eyes get watery with tears.

Mizuki growls, "Don't listen to him! Give me the sc- Arrgh!" He's interrupted by a kunai finding home in his shin. "Hehe, do you know why they hated you Naruto, why they rejected you everyday of your life? It's because you, you little demon brat, hold the Kyubi no Kitsune. You contain within you the very thing that destroyed the village twelve years ago."

Mizuki crackles crazily as both boys stare in shock at the news. Naruto trembles in disbelief and shock while Sasuke is the first to recover. The only reason Sasuke is taking him so lightly so far is because he knows Mizuki isn't much of a threat, hence why he would want the scroll. But Sasuke's through being nice. He moves faster then can be seen and reappears behind Mizuki, who's still laughing himself sick. Mizuki doesn't notice because his chakra is still masked, so it takes a split second to knock the man unconscious.

Sasuke notices the two shuriken on his back as he digs the Kunai out of Mizuki's shin. He probably intended to use them on Iruka and not two worthless Genin so he let his guard down. Sasuke is quick tying one hand behind Mizuki's back so he can't perform hand signs. He then taking out the picnic blanket and cocooning Mizuki in it from the neck down. Finally, Sasuke reinforces it with chakra and, for added effect, adds a strengthening seal by touch to the blanket to make sure he won't get out. Making two kage bushins, Sasuke orders them to carry Mizuki to the Hokage's office and tell him to await his and Naruto's arrival.

The clones nod, pick up Mizuki like a two-ended saw, and sushin in a whirl of wind and leaves with him. Sasuke picks up all of his kunai before putting them back in a hidden pouch in his jacket. He quickly jumps down in front of a still shaken up Naruto. Sasuke gives him a sympathetic smile and rests a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Hey Naruto, are you okay? Did what he said get to you?"

"S-Sasuke…he-he…said I-that I'm a…" The blonde looks fearfully into Sasuke's worried gaze.

"Hey it's okay, we'll sort this out."

"Sasuke?" Naruto regains himself after a momentary silence.

"Yeah?" He gives a relieved smile that the blonde seems okay.

"D-Did you really mean it all? Everything you said about being friends and stuff?" He looks hopefully at the thought-to-be broody teen.

"I meant every word. I'm so sorry, Naruto, but what I didn't do, what I should have done; it doesn't matter. What do you say to starting fresh now?" Sasuke steps away and extends his hand out. "Hi, I'm Sasuke Uchiha. Would you like to be friends?"

The blonde stares in disbelief. Minutes pass. Before finally, Naruto gives a bright, foxy grin, moves the scroll to his back, and grasps Sasuke's hand. "It's nice to meet you Sasuke. I'm Naruto Uzumaki and I'm going to be the greatest Hokage, dattebayo!"

Sasuke chuckles, "I'm sure you will without a doubt, but right now the current Hokage's waiting on us, so c'mon, Naruto."

With that, Sasuke sushins away with Naruto, because their hands are still linked, in a swirl of wind and leaves. They reappear in the Hokage's office to find Sasuke's two clones, Hiruzen, Iruka, Kakashi in his ANBU uniform, and a still detained and unconscious Mizuki. The two boys drop hands before Sasuke turns to stand by Naruto, thankful nobody could see they were holding hands because Sasuke's back was to them and blocking their view.

"Hello Inu, Iruka-sensei, Hokage-sama." Sasuke bows his head to the Hokage.

"Hi Jiji, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto chirps.

"Hello boys, we have much to talk about. Sasuke, if you wouldn't mind?" The old Hokage looks to Sasuke gravely. He nods and performs a ram hand sign and everyone feels the chakra pulse.

"What was that?" Iruka asks.

"Just some privacy seals, sensei. Now nobody can hear anything outside of this room" Sasuke answers.

"Cool! Can you teach me to do that Sasuke?" Naruto asks his new best friend excitedly.

"We have to work on your chakra control before anything else Naruto, but yeah, I'll teach you at some point." Sasuke answers with a smirk.

Naruto looks downcast before he brightens up. "Does that mean you'll train with me?!" Sasuke nods and Naruto jumps up, pumping his fist, "Yatta!"

Everyone smiles at the two boys, happy Naruto has made a new friend. Then Hiruzen grows serious once more, "Okay boys, would you care to relay the events of tonight so a report may be written?"

"Okay Jiji, well let's see…It started yesterday after the graduation exam. Mizuki had come up to me and told me about a special extra credit test that if I got the scroll, got to the forest without telling anybody tonight, and learned a Jutsu from it then Iruka-sensei would have to let me pass. He told me where to find the scroll, where to go, and everything. It went without a hitch, and after an hour of learning this cool new Jutsu, Sasuke showed up asking me what I was doing. I told him, and he told me that Mizuki was just using me to get the scroll.

Then Mizuki showed up, tried to get me to give him the scroll. Sasuke stopped him by throwing kunai at him, and he got mad. He said that…the reason the village hates me is because I have the Kyubi inside me…After that, Sasuke knocked Mizuki out and tied him up to bring him here, and we followed. Jiji, is it true? Do I hold the Kyubi?"

Everyone in the room is silent, looking solemnly between each other. Sasuke quickly steps forward with a neutral tone. "Yes Hokage-sama, is that true? Is that why the village treats him so poorly?"

The Third sighs deeply. "This must never, ever leave this room. It is an S-class village secret, but yes, you are what is known as a Jinchuriki Naruto. Essentially, you are a host to the Tailed Beast, in your case, the Kyubi no Kitsune or Nine-Tailed Fox Demon. There are many more things we must tell you, but until certain arrangements are made we can't disclose those to you either. We were planning on telling you about being a Jinchuriki when you were ready."

"And when would that have been?!" Everyone except Sasuke jumps at the volume and tone of the young blonde's voice, surprised to see him trembling with rage. "When would you have the time to tell me this, huh?! In months, years, or when you were ready to die and leave me to deal with the news all on my own?! What the HELL Jiji?! When will these circumstances be ready? No, I wanna know NOW! I'm not leaving until I know EVERYTHING!"

Maybe Sasuke's sleeping Jutsu wore off or wasn't as deep as he thought, but whatever the reason, Nozomi wakes up. All eyes land on the sling at the Uchiha's chest, all wide as if only realizing now he had it. Naruto stops his rant and turns curiously to his friend, eyes just as wide as everybody's. Sasuke sighs and gingerly lifts Nozomi from the sling to his shoulder.

"Shhh, Shhh, Nosy-chan, don't cry. It's okay, Daddy's here, shhh. I'm sorry princess; I didn't mean to wake you." After a minute of soft coos and gently rubbing her back the girl stops crying. Sasuke turns to the gapping blonde with an apologetic smile.

"Wha…you-how…but…but-you…I don't…" Naruto helplessly sputters at the turn of events and Sasuke sighs.

"Naruto, I would like you to meet Nozomi Uchiha, my one-year-old daughter." He turns to Iruka, "You too sensei, this is Nozomi. It's a long story and I'll explain later, I promise. Naruto, I know you're mad; I would be too, but for the sake of everybody here let's just trust them for now. A lot has happened tonight and we're all tired I'm sure, so please." He turns his best sweet smile to his friend, a smile that says: 'I'm innocent, please give me candy.'

Naruto sighs, admitting defeat with a nod and a much more tired smile. "Hey the night's still young, wha'da ya say to heading out for some ramen at the best place on Earth?" Naruto looks so hopeful, Sasuke can't refuse. He's actually been to Ichiraku's a few times and it was really good ramen.

"Sure, sounds good. I bet Nozomi would love her first taste of the stuff." Sasuke only meant this to lighten the mood further, but he still isn't really surprised when Naruto stiffens with a horrified look on his face.

YOU MEAN SHE'S NEVER HAD RAMEN?! WHAT KIND OF A FATHER ARE YOU?! THAT IS JUST EVIL! CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT-" Naruto is silenced from further ranting with a hand clasped firmly over his mouth. "Mph?!" He looks at Sasuke in surprise.

"Shhh!" He harshly whispers, cocking his head to his little girl. She's curled up in fear of the loud noises, whimpering into her father's neck. Naruto gives an 'oh.' look and Sasuke releases him.

"Sorry Sasuke, sorry Nozomi. Hey sensei, you wanna come too?" Naruto turns to Iruka who smiles and nods. And the trio takes their leave with a goodbye to Hiruzen and Kakashi.

"Well, what an unexpected night." Kakashi remarks once they're alone.

"Yes, remind me to thank Sasuke for saving our skin with the…explanations." Hiruzen agrees, rubbing a hand across his eyes.

"All I can say is he isn't going to be held off for long. We've gotta get Jariya here ASAP."

"Agreed."

"Still, it's nice to know now that Naruto has a friend and that Sasuke has two less people to act hostile and broody towards." Kakashi thinks out loud.

"Oh? How do you know he still won't shut out Sakura?"

Kakashi shrugs. "It's pointless and extremely difficult for him to keep up the act around those that know the truth. I think it's a defense mechanism so Sasuke can let his guard down around the few he actually trusts and cares for. Either that, or Naruto will blow the secret that he has a daughter by accident and force him to."

Hiruzen gives a noncommittal hum and nods. Just then Mizuki stirs in the beginnings of consciousness. "What do you think we should do with him?" Kakashi asks.

Hiruzen gives a grim, evil smile, "Send him to Ibiki."

Kakashi goes to do just that, when he stops halfway to the door and turns around, slowly. "What's the matter, Kakashi?" Hiruzen questions.

"I, uh, just realized…we forgot to get the scroll from Naruto and the report from Sasuke."

Hiruzen face-palms and groans from the bottom of his soul. As if on cue, the scroll of sealed Jutsus appears on Hiruzen's desk with a note.

"What does it say sir?" Kakashi asks as Hiruzen picks up and blinks a few times at the note.

"_I think you forgot something. Love, Sasuke._" Hiruzen reads aloud with a grimace.

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Meanwhile the two boys and Iruka are laughing it up at the otherwise vacant Ichiraku's. Sasuke already made the father/daughter duo swear to secrecy for his sake. He really has to keep track of how many people know now. When Teuchi places all of their orders in front of them the air suddenly takes to a serious atmosphere. Sasuke looks over to see Naruto giving him the most intense stare of the former's life.

"What Naruto?" Sasuke lazily stares back with curiosity mixed into a bored face.

"It's time." His terse, ominous answer causes Sasuke to raise an eyebrow.

"Uh-huh, and?" No use in trying for a direct answer from Naruto, such a thing doesn't exist, so Sasuke prompts him to elaborate.

Without a word Naruto points to Sasuke's bowl of miso-pork ramen and nods his head. Sasuke looks down at Nozomi in his lap, who looks curiously up at him. Sasuke smiles and lifts Nozomi to stand in his lap so she can see what's going on. With arm around her to hug her to his chest, Sasuke breaks his chopsticks with one hand, lifts a single noodle from the bowl, and brings it to his daughter's face. Nozomi inspects the new thing before her for a moment before cautiously taking the noodle into her fingers to manually place it in her mouth. When the entire noodle has disappeared into the baby, Sasuke makes sure she chews thoroughly and has her swallow.

"So, what did you think, Nozomi?" Sasuke gently smiles to his daughter.

"Is 'ood Papa?" She smiles brightly.

"Yeah, it's called ramen."

"ra-men?" She tries the name on her tongue with a blank look.

"Uh-huh, so did you like it?"

She smiles brightly again. "Moe pees."

Sasuke lets out a hearty laugh, before bringing another noodle to her lips. She eats it quickly, her hesitation gone. Naruto looks on and gives a big foxy grin, while the other observers smile fondly at the clearly strong bond of the girl and her father.

"So it looks like she likes it, right?" Sasuke's too focused on his daughter to notice how worked up Naruto is over his daughter's first time eating ramen.

"Hn." Looks like some habits die hard. No one says anything for a minute, watching Sasuke feed her bits and pieces of the different ingredients of the ramen and digging into the food himself.

Naruto finally turns his attention to his food, taking the occasional chance to glance at his new friend. Finally he turns to face Sasuke, ready to ask the question on his mind. Sasuke, taking notice of this, turns in his seat to face Naruto. This brings Nozomi's attention to the blonde for the first time and, said blonde smiles at her.

"Hey Sasuke, uh, I was wondering just…well how'd you end up with…Nozomi?" Sasuke nods to Naruto asking her name before sighing softly.

"I found her a year ago in the forest. She was abandoned, but in good health. She looked…so helpless and I took her in by instinct. Since then, she's just been mine." He answers honestly. This causes Naruto and Iruka to be taken aback.

"Wow." They both say in unison.

"What?" Sasuke looks, scowling, to the wide-eyed, blinking owlishly, boy and his sensei.

"Well…it's ya know, weird. I mean, you…taking in a baby…it seems oddly, well, selfless I guess is the best way to put it." Naruto ventures.

"I see, thanks Naruto." He really should pretend to take offense, but he knows the meaning behind the blonde's struggling words and appreciates the genuine praise.

Naruto gives a big foxy grin. "Say, do you, uh, mind if I hold her?" Sasuke turns and looks the sheepish blonde over before giving a genuine smile. Naruto gaps like a fish at the fact Sasuke is actually agreeing.

"Here, make sure to keep a hold of her." Wow he's blown Naruto out of the water a record number of times today.

The blonde shakily takes the baby into his hands, holding her under the armpits. Nozomi looks curiously at the whiskered boy before reaching out to him from the arms length he holds her at. Sasuke can't stop the chuckle from falling off his lips at Naruto's lost expression.

"She wants you to hold her closer dummy. Here," Sasuke gently pushes his daughter farther into Naruto's arms from behind. "Hold one arm under her butt and use the other to make sure she keeps her balance. Just don't restrict her movement. No, like this," Sasuke rearranges the blonde's arms to hold Nozomi properly when he fails trying by himself.

Naruto gives a nervous chuckle, but only a blind person wouldn't be able to see he's generally warming up to the girl. "Hi there, uh, s-so you okay? I'm not hurting you, am I?"

Sasuke almost falls out of his seat with laughter, to which Naruto pouts. "Nozomi, this is Naruto." He introduces the blonde to his curious daughter.

"Nawu?" The girl tilts her head at the blonde. She giggles and reaches to touch his face. "Unky Nawu?"

"Huh?" Naruto squints in confusion at the baby's jumbled words.

"Well, well, you are now Uncle Naru, as dubbed by Nozomi Uchiha. How does it feel?"

"U-UNCLE? Y-you mean, she…she-?"

"Relax dobe, it means she likes you. Although I guess this means we're family now." Sasuke bemuses the prospect of Naruto being a part of his family.

Iruka and the Ichiraku family just sit back and watch the heart-warming scene, An hour passes, and the three go to part ways as they take their leave from the ramen stand. Sasuke reaches out and taps Naruto on the shoulder before he can go barreling off, getting the blonde to spin around and focus on him. Naruto's new headband gleams in the faint street light.

"What?"

"Do you wanna come over and start training? You can even spend the night." Sasuke offers with a small smile. The blonde lights up like a Christmas tree.

"Sure, I'd love too!" He exclaims quietly, for the sake of the sleeping girl cuddled to his best friend's chest.

Without waiting for further incentive, Sasuke sushins with the blonde to the doorstep of the Uchiha Compound. Naruto, marvels at how huge the main house is alone as the duo walk through the door.

"Kuzuki-san, I'm back and I brought a guest to stay over for the night!" Sasuke calls when they step into the main room. A middle-aged man dressed in a suit with graying chestnut hair and a bushy mustache comes striding stiffly into the room.

"Welcome back, Uchiha-Sama. Did you enjoy your outing with the Young Mistress?" He bows as Sasuke hands him a still sleeping Nozomi.

"Yes, it was very pleasant Kuzuki, thank you. This is Naruto Uzumaki, he will be spending the night to night and will be a frequent visitor as well." Sasuke motions with a hand to Naruto.

"You've got your own butler? That's so cool!"

Kuzuki chuckles, "Yes, I have been in the service of the Uchiha family all of my life. It is very nice to meet you, Naruto-sama. Please do enjoy your stay." With another stiff bow Kuzuki exits with Nozomi.

"Alright Naruto, let's go out back to the training ground to start working." Sasuke leads the way to the personal Uchiha training ground out back of the main house. After they get a safe distance from the house, Sasuke turns and clears his throat to get the blonde's wandering attention. "Okay so for at least a few days, we'll be working on nothing but your chakra control. I never guessed really, but now that we know I'm assuming your…gift is the reason for your huge chakra reserve problem I've seen."

"Huh? What does that have to do with my chakra and what does my chakra have to do with my problems at the Academy? Besides, Iruka-sensei passed me!" The blonde points excitedly to the headband Iruka had given him before he left the two boys.

"I'll explain it then. See Naruto, the reason you had such struggles with even the most basic of Jutsus at the Academy was because you overloaded every technique with too much chakra. You couldn't produce the right amount needed because your reserves are that gigantic. My guess is, because of your gift, you get a mega supercharge to your reserves, so it isn't your fault.

The better someone's chakra control is the more and the better the Jutsus they are able to do, but with you it'll take a high level of training to get your control even acceptable. This mostly has to do with the fact that you're starting control training now instead of when you were younger too."

"Okay, so what are we goanna do?" Naruto looks eager to learn anything new.

"We're going to do the tree climbing exercise. That's where you use chakra in your feet to climb trees. Here, watch."

Sasuke walks over to the nearest tree and puts a foot up the trunk, his feet glow blue, and he easily begins scaling the tree. Sasuke stops halfway up the tree and hangs upside down from a branch, smiling down at Naruto who's watching intently. Sasuke easily cancels the chakra and, with a flip so he's feet-first, lands unharmed on the ground. He walks back over to a beaming Naruto.

"Okay now listen. There's a trick to doing this that they don't normally teach and that makes the exercise a lot more rewarding. What I want you to do; go lie down with both feet planted on the base of a tree in front of you. Then you're going to circulate enough chakra to your feet to where you can stick to the tree. The best way to do this without doing too much, is to let the right amount slowly trickle to the soles of your feet, not just pump it." Sasuke instructs.

Naruto nods, going to the same tree Sasuke used to demonstrate, and follows his instructions. He tests his stability by walking slowly up the tree a few paces, then grins triumphantly. Until he accidentally cuts off the chakra flow without thinking, but luckily, Sasuke foresaw this and is quick to catch the blonde before he hits the ground.

"Very good, you did better then I thought. But next time, don't lose your concentration." Sasuke chides him. "Do it again, but this time I want you to make it at least halfway up the tree without stopping." He commands gently.

So, after about thirty minutes, Naruto is able to walk three-fourths of the way up the tree's base. Sasuke walks with hum up a tree next to his and watches his progress. He offers encouragement and praise to his friend, which helps speed things along. After a full hour of training and encouragement, Naruto can walk all of the way to the top of the tree.

"Alright Naruto, now I want you to walk up and down the tree as many times as you can, as fast as you can." Sasuke says as he sits on a tree branch adjacent to the blonde during a short break.

"What? Why?" Naruto flinches at Sasuke's light glare.

"Rule number one Naruto, don't question my methods. Question motives all you want, but not the methods of a teacher." Sasuke smiles ruefully at the lesson he learned after growing up with his Kakashi Nii-san, thankfully not the hard way.

"Okay." Naruto nods with determination and carries out Sasuke's order. He runs up and down the tree once in five minutes before he loses concentration again trying to multi-task. It takes another hour, but Naruto is able to run up and down a tree at least three times in thirteen minutes.

"You're doing really great Naruto. Okay, I want you to practice running up and down like that as often as you can, but for now we're moving on. Don't worry either, it doesn't need to be on trees, you can do it on any flat and non-ground level surface. For example; walls of rooms and buildings or even ceilings."

"Okay then, what's next, Sasuke-sensei?"

Sasuke smiles at the respectful title. "Next I want you to just change things up a bit. Also, when we aren't training just call me Sasuke, okay?"

"Okay."

"I want you to lie at the base of the tree again and in one foot circulate the chakra. Then I want you to alternate the flow of chakra between each foot with every step. Don't worry; you'll get the hang of it eventually, so stick it out."

It takes four-and-a-half hours, but Naruto is able to walk up the entire tree once while alternating his chakra flow. So, after a total of six hours in training, Naruto made more progress then Sasuke honestly thought he would in a week.

_I guess positive reinforcement does wonders for someone like him, makes enough sense, _Sasuke muses to himself.

"Alright Naruto, let's call it quits for today; you look beat." He looked more disheveled then when Sasuke watched him learn the Kage Bushin Jutsu. Naruto nods and Sasuke leads the way to the guest room closest to his room.

"Oh no!" Sasuke looks over his shoulder at Naruto's distressed cry.

"What is it?"

"I forgot about getting clothes and stuff from my place!" He whines.

Sasuke has the decency to look sheepish. "I already thought of that."

"Ha?"

Sasuke opens the door and points to a packed overnight bag on the guest bed. "I snatched your house key from your pocket and had a clone swing by your place during training." He takes said key out of his pocket and tosses it to the dumbfounded blonde.

"Thanks…but why?" Naruto says hesitantly.

Sasuke shrugs, "I don't like breaking and entering." He gets a sweat-drop.

"Right, uh, sure. Well, thanks, I'll see you in the morning."

"Yeah, goodnight."

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A/N: So, what do you think of Naruto and Sasuke's new friendship? This will change things.

This follows the anime only and I don't know how far I'm going to get because I haven't really watched much of it. I know this might seem like it's following cannon but there will be some fairly obvious plot changes

Thank you guys for being patient and I hope you continue to enjoy!


	4. AN

I'm sorry to those of you who thought that this would be an actual chapter. I'm writing this to let you know that I am currently suspending this to work on my other Naruto story, The Choice: Altered.

Check it out, I think you'll like it.

I will be coming back to this story at some point but I have two stories that I'm splitting my focus between right now and inspiration for this is just lost. Like I said though, I think you'll like my other Naruto story so check it out.


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